| TASTE BENCHMARKS | ||||||
| Profile #1 Collectible |
Profile #2 Easy Sipping |
Profile #3 Generous |
Profile #4 Energetic |
Profile #5 Savory |
Profile #6 Dessert |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Pale to straw. Usually not very golden, as this suggests excessive tannins and possible oxidative enzymatic activity. | Pale to straw | Straw to gold. | Quite pale. | Straw to gold. | Straw-gold to amber. |
| Aroma | Although it's essential for these wines to possess complexity and depth to make ageing worthwhile, the very reductive energy and integrity required to age well cause these wines to become often unruly in youth. Riesling lovers need the same crystal ball as Bordeaux fanciers, because the best wines can be tight, austere and closed, even in extreme cases producing stinky sulfide aromas in youth which usually vanish after a year or three. With age, the wines open and eventually acquire a petroleum nuance. | Flowery jasmin or lilac plus mild peach or guava. | Open, rich peach aromas accented by jasmin, honey and asian spices. | Extremely fresh. Subtly flowery rather than opulently peachy, they reveal underlying nuances of place such as dill, sandalwood and Asian spice. | Amidst other rich floral and fruity characteristics, possessing a distinctive machine oil aroma which develops with time. | Intense, complex aromas of peach, orange, mango, honey, jasmin, lilac, and Christmas spice. |
| Flavor | Generally tight and austere in youth. | User-friendly wines which drink well on their own in a cocktail situation, before a meal, or with finger food. | Mainstream, well balanced dinner wines, , which can be counted on to grace any table, and are your best choice with many Asian cuisines from Hunanese to Thai to Indian, particularly if there is spicy heat involved. | The best all around wine with halfshell oysters, and also delicious with lobster, crab and sushi. Aromatically fresh and crisp in the mouth, sometimes showing a subliminal, appetizing touch of tannic bitterness. | Rich, complex, exotic and well developed. The essential oils which lend riesling its jasmine and lilac aromas are transformed by age into petrol and bay, providing the perfect foil for fruit preparations of duck. | Dense, lush, concentrated. |
| Balance | Acidity, structure and minerality to last in the cellar. | Off-dry, with accessible aromas and soft acidity. Not aggressively steely or minerally. | Off-dry to medium sweet with good acidity and minerality to balance. | Dry to off-dry. Bracing acidity, very palate cleansing. May be quite minerally energetic in the finish. | May vary from dry to semi-sweet, but always with sufficient acidity to match. | Sweet to extremely sweet, but never cloying, balanced by acidity, minerality and sometimes elevated volatile acidity. |
| PRODUCTION CORRELATIONS | ||||||
| Oenological | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel with little or no oak influence and no malolactic. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel with little or no oak influence and no malolactic. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel with little or no oak influence and no malolactic. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel with little or no oak influence and no malolactic. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel with little or no oak influence and no malolactic. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. | Generally cold fermentations in stainless steel or barrel, no malolactic. Fermentations may be sluggish and protracted. Oxygen is avoided and bottling involves sterile filtration. |
| Viticultural | The older the vines, the more collectible the wine, seemingly adding an extra dimension to the flavor expression difficult to describe. | Non-irrigated. | Non-irrigated. May include small amounts of botrytis. | Non-irrigated. No water stress. | Non-irrigated. May be induced by water stress. | Often involving selected berry picking with or without botrytis. Includes icewines. |
| Terroir | Special properties of specific plots are numerous and mysterious. Cool, well-drained sites at high altitude and high latitude favor development of complexity. | Combination of high altitude and high latitude enhances fragrances. Often from vineyards with mixed soils from portions not picked for Reserve wines. | Combination of high altitude and high latitude enhances fragrances. | Most successful in cool years and sites with less sun, away from the large lakes. | Lighter soild, dry years. Combination of high altitude and high latitude enhances fragrances. | High sunlight areas are favored for flavor development, berry shrinking and control of rot. |